Having been a fan of both film and music, my interests merged together into a love for the film score or film soundtracks.
Having started paying attention to film scores and instrumental music in my early teens, I have come to consider the film score as an essential of the film making process and the movie going experience.
A well crafted film score can be an inspiring creative force, set the mood for audiences, elevate the film completely through its mere presence, and be an important catalyst in influencing one’s liking of the film.
The film score or soundtrack is one of my favorite music genres, and is a genre not constricted by any one convention, encompassing numerous styles and genres and works in its ambit.
With that said, let us a look at my favorite film scores of all time, in no particular order of preference –
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Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Music By: Lorne Balfe
Quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought after composers, and of my favorites, Lorne Balfe’s score for Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a testament to his talents.
Being the sixth film in a long running franchise, Balfe truly achieves the impossible by crafting an immensely powerful score that is unforgettable in every sense of the word.
Balfe employs the rapid and rhythmic use of choral bongo drums, a staple of the film series’ scores, but sparingly used, as the most memorable and recurring aspect of Fallout‘s score, punctuating and penetrating it at every junction.
Nonetheless, Balfe also pays equal attention the film’s more emotional beats, creating a sense of unnerving and sustained melancholy to convey the dilemmas and turmoils the series’ central character Ethan Hunt goes through.
The resulting score is one that amplifies and elevates every bit of the film’s action sequences, and provides an extra sense of excitement to the film overall.
With Balfe confirmed to be involved with the next two films in the franchise, one can only wonder what the composer has in store for audiences next.
Recommended Tracks: A Storm is Coming, Should You Choose to Accept…, The Manifesto, Good Evening, Mr. Hunt, Fallout, Stairs and Rooftops, Free Fall, The Exchange, Escape Through Paris, Scalpel and Hammer, Cutting on One, The Last Resort, and Mission: Accomplished
Recommended For: Workouts, Exercising, Simple Listening
Tenet
Music By: Ludwig Göransson
Fresh off his work and accolades for Black Panther, Ludwig Göransson was enlisted to helm the musical score for Christopher Nolan’s science fiction spy thriller Tenet, the director’s first away from regular collaborator Hans Zimmer.
Göransson nonetheless proves to be a worthy successor, and the right man for the job, giving audiences that classic Zimmer-esque sound whilst also establishing his own musical language and identity.
Keeping in line with the film’s central palindrome theme and structure, Göransson’s score employs retrograde music that sounds similar when played forwards and backwards.
Göransson innovative musical sensibilities are coupled with manipulated chords, synths, electric guitars and sound elements (such as fire alarms and heavy breathing) that tie into the film and give it a fantastical and (at times) eerie quality, complimenting the film thoroughly.
Tenet‘s score is one that is able to stand strongly on it’s own, with ample replay value, leaving the listener taken back and amazes by the strong production values, and to discover something new and fascinating every time.
Recommended Tracks: Rainy Night in Tallinn, Windmills, Meeting Neil, Freeport, 747, Foils, Sator, Trucks in Place, Red Room Blue Room, Inversion, Retrieving the Case, Posterity and The Protagonist
Recommended For: Workouts, Exercising, Simple Listening
Dark Phoenix
Music By: Hans Zimmer
Adding another superhero film to his repertoire, Hans Zimmer’s score for the final main X-Men film is one of his most memorable works.
While Zimmer has composed for several high-profile projects, his work on Dark Phoenix is one that sticks out as a guilty pleasure.
Zimmer steps into the X-Men universe, completely switching up the musical landscape of the series with his assured deft work and unique style, creating new motifs for the central X-Men team as well as the titular Dark Phoenix.
Zimmer uses fast paced percussion, electronic and orchestral elements such as the electric guitar, violin and piano, along with choral voices to give a well-rounded score that conveys the emotions of the characters, whilst also functioning as an exciting superhero score.
Zimmer succeeds in bringing a new flavor to the X-Men films through his score, one that emerges as one of the strongest aspects of the film.
Recommended Tracks: Gap, Dark, Frameshift, Intimate, Negative, Reckless and Coda
Recommended For: Workouts, Exercising, Simple Listening
The Social Network
Music By: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Definitely the strongest album on the list, the music for The Social Network is an unparalleled work of film music.
With the film score working as a separate character within the film, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross represent the fascinating nature of the central technological breakthrough by it’s rapid and fast paced electronic instrumentation comprised of guitars and synthesizers.
It is a film score that keeps on pushing the boundaries of artistic innovation, on par with the growth of technology as shown in the film.
While the technological aspect of the film is dominant, Reznor and Ross pay attention to the human side of the film’s story.
Sustained dissonant renditions of orchestral instrumentations such as the piano highlight the dark side of creation, innovation, greed and the ensuing fractured relationships that emerge between the characters.
The Social Network‘s score is one that is in perfect harmony with the visuals of the film, rendering even the simplest of scenes tense and exciting through its pulsating music, and remains a delight to listen to.
Recommended Tracks: Hand Covers Bruise, In Motion, A Familiar Taste, Intriguing Possibilities, Painted Sun in Abstract, 3:14 Every Night, In the Hall of the Mountain King, On We March, Magnetic and Almost Home
Recommended For: Simple Listening, Chores, Assignments, Work, Writing, Concentration, Meditation
Tron: Legacy
Music By: Daft Punk
Consisting of lush and cinematic musical soundscapes, Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy score arrives like a breath of fresh air and is a fascinating album worth listening to.
With a simulated reality at the forefront of the story, Daft Punk’s work on the film is marked by their trademark sound and unique touch on electronic and synth music that is seamlessly blended with orchestral elements.
The musical duo also give depth to the film’s action sequences with slow rising music that builds up to a maintained crescendo, heightening the excitement present within the scenes.
Moreover, Tron: Legacy‘s score also plays out as a meditative piece of work, soothing to the ears in the film’s more quieter scenes.
Daft Punk’s work definitely set a precedent for electronic music to be implemented within the world of film scores, providing a fresh side of composing, yet one that is reminiscent of the classic era of film scores that are involving, indelible and ultimately memorable.
Recommended Tracks: Overture, Recognizer, Arena, Rinzler, The Game Has Changed, Outlands, End of Line, Fall, Solar Sailer, Disc Wars and Flynn Lives
Recommended For: Simple Listening, Chores, Assignments, Work, Cycling, Workouts, Exercising
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The musical score has undoubtedly been one of the most strongest and praiseworthy aspects of the Transformers film series. With Dark of the Moon, composer Steve Jablonsky delivers one of his best works in and outside the series.
Being one of the darker and sinister films in the series, Jablonsky’s work carries an air of underlying threat and impending doom, with an added element of emotional beats to signify the disastrous events and character relationships portrayed in the film.
Jablonsky also goes on to provide a wave of endless excitement, punctuated by electronic and orchestral percussion, drums and electric guitar used within the grand battle scenes.
Coupled with the aforementioned sense of dread, Jablonsky also instills the film with a sense of rising victory, hope and inspiration, all culminating in a truly atmospheric and emotional score.
With strong production values and a fixed artistic voice, Jablonsky’s score for Dark of the Moon ranks best amongst the Transformers franchise.
Recommended Tracks: Sentinel Prime, Battle, There Is No Plan, The Fight Will Be Your Own, No Prisoners, Only Trophies, The World Needs You Now, It’s Our Fight, and I’m Just The Messenger
Recommended For: Workouts, Exercising, Simple Listening
Texts of A Pop Culture Buff 